Your Right to Know

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Dispatch PhotosSelena Vaughns, 18, writes thank-you cards for government officials who approved a $665,000 yearly allotment for Star House in Gov. John Kasich’s budget. The funding is for the center’s operating costs, not repairs.

Five days a week, Will Welker — 23 years old and living under a bridge — makes his way to Star
House for food, water, clean clothes and the company of people who care.

Saturdays and Sundays stink because the city’s only drop-in center for homeless teens and young
adults is closed.

“You just try and sleep,” he said, “sleep until Monday.”

The center at 1621 N. 4th St. in the University District wasn’t open when one of Welker’s fellow
campers, also a Star House client, shot and killed himself in November. But the limited hours and
services that have long troubled both the youths and the staff who help them finally are set to
expand.

The new two-year state budget signed by Gov. John Kasich provides $665,000 a year for Star
House, which was started by an Ohio State University professor in 2006 and operates out of a
university-rented house north of Downtown.

The building is old and crowded and badly needs renovation; the program has sometimes been in
danger of financial collapse. Still, the number of homeless teens and young adults turning to Star
House has climbed to 30 a day, with nearly 450 clients annually.

The number of homeless youths and young adults who are on their own in central Ohio tops 1,500
each year, according to those who advocate for them.

Tracy Plouck, the director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services,
said the Kasich administration recognizes that teens and young adults are among the most
underserved of the homeless.

“Places like the Star House offer an opportunity for engagement — to meet the youth where they
are,” she said. “This need exists, really, all over Ohio.”

Aiding homeless young people can save taxpayers later, Plouck said. “Assisting youths who are of
transition age really helps to prevent long-term, chronic homelessness.”

Natasha Slesnick, the Star House founder and director, said the new state funding gives the
program stability. “What this means is that we’ve stopped the bleeding,” she said. “Instead of
spending our time focusing on how to survive, we can spend it on our youths.”

In addition to expanding hours, Star House — which is not an overnight shelter — will increase
its outreach, counseling services and security and will add a business manager.

Part-time therapists hired this year with a grant from the Ohio attorney general’s office are
swamped, said Jeana Patterson, Star House program coordinator. “The demand on them exceeds their
capacity to serve. That tells you something: These kids are open to help.”

Too old for foster care and ineligible for family shelters, homeless teens and young adults don’t
fare well in adult shelters. Few community shelter systems have created programs for that age
group.

Welker said he couldn’t stay in the men’s shelter. “It was rough, negative, and you get
robbed."

Star House feels safer. Patterson “reminds me of a super mother,” he said.

Because the state funding is for operating expenses only, it cannot be used for building or
renovation. Terry O’Connell, the chairman of the Star House advisory board, said he wants to launch
a capital campaign.

“We need to leverage this state success,” he said. “We’re in a very old, rundown, three-story,
1,800-square-foot rental property. It’s in disrepair.”

News of the state help thrilled the youths, too. Selena Vaughns, 18, isn’t sure where she’ll be
sleeping next week, but she smiled as she drew illustrations on notes. “These are thank-you letters
to state government,” she said. “They helped us.”